Panem High
by StoryLover95
Summary: Cato, Clove, Marvle, Glimmer, Thresh, Rue, Katniss, Peeta, and River all are reaped into the Hunger Games to compete for their school! Careers and lower districts will have to work together to win! Not to mention the fact that someone has started to take the Hunger Games, a friendly competition between schools, too far... who will survive? Full summary inside. Cato/OC Katniss/Peeta
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone! I have read the Hunger Games (and I WOULD have read Catching Fire if my brother stopped lending the book to people!) and I saw the movie and it was fantastic! The movie did a great job of capturing the emotion of the characters and I loved what they did showing other parts in the Capitol. What I loved the most was the characters, so I thought I could throw them all into a story where I can dive deeper into their individual characters, and pick them apart... HIGH SCHOOL! Hope you all like it! It's going to be MAINLY Cato/OC, Katniss/Peeta, Marvel/Glimmer, Thresh/Foxface and other pairings are possible.

Full Summary: Cato McKnight is the resident bad boy at Panem Academy. He and the 'Careers' rule the school, without any opposition. They pick on the lower Districts, with no remorse, taking special interest in making Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, and River Hawthornes' lives living hells. In their minds, they are nothing but dirt. But when Ms. Trinket calls the names of the students that are going to be Reaped into the Hunger Games, the tributes are going to have to work together to represent their school and everything that the students think they know about each other is going to be thrown out the window! Cato get's to see life from a different perspective, and realizes some things about himself. Drama, heartbreak, and fights are bound to ensue! Not to mention the fact that someone has started to take the Hunger Games, a friendly competition between schools, too far... who will survive?

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games; that belongs to the amazing Suzanne Collins.

* * *

Panem High

Chapter 1: The Reaping

It was first period on a sunny Monday morning at Panem High, but the weather was doing little to lighten the mood of the students. Everyone was off in their individual cliques, talking amongst themselves, and hoping not to start a fight in the middle of the classroom. The _last_ time it happened Ms. Trinket nearly had a heart attack.

Katniss Everdeen was sitting near the front of the classroom next to some of her best friends, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, and River Hawthorne. She had known the Hawthorne siblings since she was young seeing as the two families lived next door to each other, and they had all became fast friends. Truthfully she had become friends with the tiny brunette, brown eyed, girl first, before even meeting Gale. When she did meet him however, she immediately had a respect for him since he had taught her to hunt. As for the other member of their quartet, she hadn't really known Peeta all that well until one day, when her family was struggling to make ends meet, he had shown up at her door with a basket of freshly baked bread. Peeta had shown up at school the next day with a large bruise on his face, but he was still more concerned with Katniss then himself. From there the two became best friends, always looking out for one another.

Just behind them was Thresh, a large African American man who normally kept to himself or his younger sister, Rue. Next to him was Foxface. No one knew what her actual name was, she hated it so much she made sure that all of her teachers had it changed on their attendance roster to say Foxface, a nickname she had gotten during her first year of high school after. She, like Thresh, kept mostly to herself.

At the other end of the classroom, trying to get River's attention was Kane Springer. Kane was River's on again off again boyfriend for a few months now. He had brown hair and green eyes, and was just a bit taller than Peeta. He was a sly and smooth talking boy. Gale completely hated Kane, and Katniss and Peeta had a strong dislike for the boy as well. The reason why Kane was hated by the District 12 trio was mostly because he had broken River's heart more than once, and he had managed to sweet talk his way back into her good graces each and every time it happened. Gale had tried more than once to forcibly pull them apart (he'd even gone as far as bribing his younger sister) with little success.

And at the back of the classroom were the resident Careers: Cato McKnight, Clove McKnight, Marvel Hanson, and Glimmer Landsdown. The Careers were those students who were put into Districts 1 or 2. The Districts were a way to put the students into categories to make it easier on the teaching staff, to have specified teams during Spirit Week, and to cause tensions between the students. Of course, the last reason wasn't what the teachers had been looking for when they issued the District distinctions, but that's just what happened. The lower your District number was, then the better you were treated in school. Districts 1 and 2 were worshipped, while Districts 11 and 12 were treated like dirt. That was largely because those in the lower Districts got into their Districts because their families were rich and bought their way in. Everyone else was randomized.

Marvel and Glimmer, the most popular couple in the entire school, were both District 1 while Cato and his younger sister Clove were put in District 2. Foxface and Kane were in District 5, Thresh and his sister Rue were in District 11, Katniss, Peeta, Gale, and Prim were in District 12, and River was in District 7.

Marvel was one of the most popular boys in the school. Out of all the District 1 boys his parents were the second wealthiest in the school. He was the star quarterback of the football team and a fairly good student. He had a certain charm about him that made everyone love him, even if he was making fun of that person. He had charisma, charm, athletic ability, and good looks. It was no wonder that he was so loved and respected.

Glimmer complimented Marvel nicely. As the most popular girl in school, a blonde haired beauty, and head cheerleader, she had it all. Her parents, like Marvel's, were incredibly wealthy, and that allowed her to get all the latest clothes, shoes, cars, everything new and in style. She had a bit of a passive aggressive style, and would not hesitate to rip into someone. That got most of the girls to fear and respect her, while some downright hated her.

Clove was a very respected junior in high school. She was a starter on the schools soccer team, and field hockey team, and she was ruthless on the field. There was never a game when her white uniform was completely green or black with grass or mud—occasionally red with blood. She was also one of the smartest students in the school, second only to River. She was Glimmer's best friend, and tended to just go along on whatever shopping trips her blonde companion had planned, and also went along with whatever her brother had done.

And speaking of Cato, he was the most popular and sought after boy in school. He was the wide receiver of the football team, working with Marvel to create the 'Dominating Duo' as some had started calling them. Not only did he play football, but he had also taken to mixed martial arts and ice hockey. He had a body and looks to die for, and the fact that he was still single made nearly every girl in the school throw themselves at him. They didn't seem to care that Cato was a complete ass and tended to pick on anyone and everyone with the exception of those in Districts 1 and 2.

"God, I hate those Careers," Gale glowered as he looked over and saw the four Careers talking about some story to the other students in the class, who seemed mystified. "They're such stuck up assholes." He then noticed that Kane was trying to get his sister's attention and frowned. "Oh look, another asshole I hate." Gale winced as his sister hit his arm with a glare leveled his way.

"They can't help it when they're born with a silver spoon in their mouths," Katniss added on, a bit loudly.

"You have something to say, Katpiss?" Glimmer hissed as she glared at the girl. Everyone around the Careers all 'ooh-ed' as if to make Glimmer's comment sound even more insulting.

"I've got plenty to say, but nothing you'd want to hear," Katniss retorted.

Marvel smirked. "Now, now, Miss Everdeen, you should think twice before talking to us like that."

"Or what?" Gale challenged. "You're going to get your daddy to buy people to beat us up?"

Peeta hit Gale's arm lightly to get his attention. "Not worth it, dude."

"He dad doesn't need to buy anyone. I take the pleasure of beating up the worthless trash that crosses us," Cato retorted.

"Who you calling trash, you spoiled, pampered, trust fund baby?" Gale glared.

Cato was up on his feet within a second, heading straight for Gale, his hands clenched into fists. Gale was ready to get up and go a few rounds with the blonde bruiser, but the glare and determination on his face melted away when he saw his sister get up and stand in front of Cato, her hands up in a calming gesture. "Hey, let's just all calm down here, okay?"

Cato's charge towards Gale was halted.

Everyone in Panem High knew that Cato McKnight, for all his talk, didn't hit girls.

"Alright, everyone settle down! Come, come, now children in your seats!" Ms. Trinket spoke up as she entered the room. She put her bag onto her desk and started writing on the white board.

"Next time your sister won't be there to save you," Cato hissed, before he went to go take his seat.

River sat down beside her brother, only to have him slap her arm lightly. "I could've handled myself," Gale spoke up, clearly upset. "I don't need my sister—my _little_ sister—fighting my battles for me. And I don't want you getting hurt for getting in the middle of something stupid like that."

"I wasn't doing anything," River pouted.

Peeta nodded in agreement. "True. She was just diffusing the situation."

"I say Gale should've gone a few rounds with Cato. It would be amusing for sure," Katniss said a smirk on her face. Gale grinned and Peeta and River both sighed.

"You guys have anger issues," Peeta accused, shaking his head.

Ms. Trinket clapped her hands to gather everyone's attention. "Alright class! As you all may know, today is a very special day! Today is the Reaping!" She paused as some of the students cheered and some groaned. "Yes, I know it's a very exciting time for all of you, but we'll be doing the Reaping today just before lunch, so you'll all have to wait! For now, we will get to study some Ancient Greek culture!"

"Reaping?" River asked in confusion.

"How do you not know what a Reaping is?" Peeta asked, shocked that the girl didn't know.

Katniss rolled her eyes. "Peeta, River went to Capitol Academy for the past two years remember? She transferred here at the end of the school year last year so she could be with Gale after what happened. She probably doesn't even know what the Hunger Games are."

"Hunger Games?"

"See?"

Peeta nodded and grinned sheepishly. "My bad."

"Really? Anyone up for answering my question?"

Gale laughed at his sisters' confusion and soon covered it up as a cough, noting the glare Ms. Trinket had sent his way. The four of them pretended to take notes and pay attention for a few minutes before Gale started whispering to his sister, taking care to look up on occasion and scribble random letters on his notes. "The Hunger Games are a yearly competition that the three local schools take part in. It's pretty much like a survival game with different challenges like puzzles and crap like that. At the end of the games, the school with the last tributes who haven't quit or have been voted off win a check for one million dollars to go to school expenses, and the MVP's of the games get a million dollar check and a full-tuition scholarship to any college of their choosing."

"Oh that's pretty cool! I wanna compete!"

"No you do not," Gale hissed, tossing his sister a serious look.

River recoiled and looked to her brother in confusion. However, it was Peeta who started talking next, patting her hand lightly. "He's right River, it can get pretty intense out there. Last year one of the tributes was rushed to the hospital for dehydration and malnutrition, another had a broken leg from falling out of a tree; one even got a concussion when there was a fight. Plus you're away from your family for about two months. It's bad."

"Oops, I nearly forgot! Everyone take out your homework from last night!" Ms. Trinket announced.

"Tesserae," the class nearly chorused at once, surprising River, who had been in the middle of taking out her homework. River handed her homework in, ignoring the comment of 'teacher's pet' that Cato had muttered, and then waited for everyone to settle down before she asked a new question.

"What's Tesserae?"

"Tesserae pretty much means that you'll add your name into the drawing, which is called the Reaping, in exchange for stuff. If you were to get detention, you could get Tesserae to get out of it. If you forgot homework like you've just seen, if you forgot lunch money, if you cut class," Katniss explained.

River raised an eyebrow. "They let you cut class for Tesserae?"

"Well, if there's a possibility that you can bring a million dollars to the school, then they're pretty liberal with it."

Gale noticed the pouting look on his sisters' face and bumped her shoulder. "Don't worry; your name is only in it once since you were new this year and because you never get in any trouble. You won't get chosen."

The rest of the class hour was spent listening to Ms. Trinket's ramblings.

* * *

"Where the hell are they?" Katniss asked as she looked at her watch. She had been waiting outside of the auditorium for a solid ten minutes, and the Reaping was about to start. She had already seen Prim (who had decided to head in and sit with her friends) and River (who had to go inside and sit with District 7 anyway). Peeta and Gale, however, seemed to be taking their sweet time.

"Are you talking about us?"

Katniss looked around and saw Gale and Peeta walking her way. "About time," Katniss snorted. "What the hell were you guys doing?"

"Coach Abernathy made us stay after and run a few extra laps because we kept talking. He didn't feel like giving us Tesserae today. I think he lost his vodka bottle so he was taking it out on us," Peeta explained.

"Okay, let's just get in there before we get in trouble and have to put our names in the drawing more times then we have to," Katniss said. The two boys followed her into the auditorium where the students had all split up and sat in their Districts. Ms. Trinket was on the stage, with twenty-four glass bowls in front of her all filled with pieces of paper, waiting for the Reaping to begin. Katniss, Gale, and Peeta all took their seats and talked amongst themselves for a few moments, waiting for a few more students to trickle in, before everyone silenced as the lights dimmed.

The Reaping was about to begin.

"Welcome, welcome! Here we are on the cusp of the 74th Annual Hunger Games! A friendly competition between our rival schools, that showcase are tenacity and our drive as the students of Panem High! Now, it's time to choose the twenty-four lucky students who will be representing our school! May the odds be ever in your favor!" Ms. Trinket said enthusiastically, while the majority of the students groaned. "We shall begin with District 1 and, as always, ladies first! Do we have any volunteers?"

"I volunteer!" Glimmer announced, standing up from her spot in the District 1 section. Immediately her group started cheering as she looked around to make sure no one else volunteered. When no one did, Ms. Trinket smiled.

"Well, Glimmer Landsdown, don't be shy! Come on up!" Glimmer walked up the steps of the stage and stood on the District 1 pedestal just behind the reaping bowl with a large smile on her face. "Alright, now for our District 1 male!"

"I volunteer!" To no one's surprise it was Marvel who volunteered this time. He didn't wait for Ms. Trinket to call him. Instead he just walked up onto the stage and stood on the pedestal next to his girlfriend, waving to the cheering District 1 and 2 crowds, a charming smile on his face.

"Ten bucks says Glimmer doesn't even know what the outdoors looks like, and that Marvel won't be able to start a fire," Gale spoke up, getting a laugh from both of his companions.

"It's not a bet when you know it's true," Katniss pointed out.

Peeta hit both Gale and Katniss and gestured towards the stage. "Look who volunteered for District 2. Anyone shocked?"

It was Cato and Clover standing on the pedestal for District 2.

"Clove might actually do well," Katniss spoke up after a moment of thought. "She's small, quick, smart. She'll do well."

The rest of the Districts didn't bother volunteering any tributes, so instead Ms. Trinket had to draw names. The tributes that were called from Districts 3, 4, and 6 were people that Katniss and her group didn't really know, but she noticed that Foxface had gotten chosen for District 5 along with Kane. At the mention of Kane's name, Gale smirked and applauded. Anything that put Kane away from River—and into harm's way—was bound to put a smile on the elder Hawthorne's face. As soon as it was time for District 7 to be called, the trio silenced.

"The tribute that will be representing the District 7 females is... River Hawthorne!"

Katniss and Peeta winced as they slowly turned to look at Gale. His face was devoid of emotion for a full second before his expressions soon morphed into one they knew as him trying to keep himself from exploding. A slight twitch in his leg caused Katniss and Peeta to grab onto the boy before he could jump out of his seat. "You're not a female _or_ in District 7! You can't volunteer, and she can't refuse!" Katniss hissed, trying to get her friend to calm down with minimal success. As soon as Gale saw his sister, an emotionless expression on her face, being escorted up to the stage by the Peace Keepers—the student hall monitors of the school—he started fighting against Peeta and Katniss more, but Peeta was very strong and managed to hold him down with Katniss's help.

River ignored the applause that accompanied her journey up the stairs. She ignored the rude remarks the Careers made as she passed them, and she ignored the smiling face of Ms. Trinket. She simply walked towards her pedestal and stood on the female side of it, her head held high and her shoulders squared. She looked towards were she knew her brother was and gave him a smile served to calm Gale down enough to where he was only muttering curses under his breath, no longer needing to be restrained.

The rest of District 7, District 8, District 9, and District 10 went off without a hitch. The only other problem there was, was when little Rue was called up for District 11, and Thresh volunteered a second after to be the male tribute. With them done, there was only one District to go: District 12. Ms. Trinket pulled out the name card for the girls and the name that was uttered made Katniss freeze.

"Primrose Everdeen!"

Prim. Katniss's little sister Prim. The little sister Katniss had taken care of ever since her father died and her mother became unstable. Prim was so tiny, so young, so vulnerable. She didn't get much to eat, and truthfully no one in Katniss or Gale's families did. Prim wouldn't be able to get much food out there, and she needed to eat. No doubt the other competitors would look to her as a target. And unlike Rue, Prim didn't have someone as large and strong as Thresh to look after her. Katniss couldn't let Prim get hurt. She couldn't.

"I volunteer!"

Katniss looked around and noticed she was standing in the middle of the aisle, with Gale trying to hold her back and that the voice that had just shouted was indeed hers. Prim turned around to look at her sister in shock, and even Gale was looking at Katniss in surprise. Shaking free of Gale, she stood up straight and sucked in a deep breath. "I volunteer as tribute!" She said again.

Immediately the room burst into applause and Katniss, escorted by Peace Keepers, made her way up to the stage and walked up. She spared a glance towards River, who gave her a small smile and a nod, before she walked over to her pedestal. She stood alone, trying to figure out what the hell she had just gotten herself into when she heard a name she didn't expect.

"Peeta Mellark!"

God had a sense of humor, she was sure of it.

There was a quite audible 'you've got to be fucking kidding!' which she was sure was courtesy of Gale, as Peeta stood up, surprise written on his face as he walked up towards the stage and to stand on the pedestal by Katniss.

"Panem High, I'd like you to give a warm round of applause for your tributes!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay two things: one thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter and actually read it! Virtual cookies for you! I'm really having fun writing this story and will update as soon as I possibly can without going over the amount of pre-written chapters I already have done while working on my own stories for school and because I hope to get published some day (maybe lol). Two, congrats to xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx for noticing the fact that I _did_ steal the last names of Cato, Clove, Marvel, and Glimmer from Power Rangers characters! I honestly thought no one would notice lol. Anyway, here's the second chapter! It's going to be short because I'm just introducing the mentors! The next chapter will be long, promise! Hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games, only my OC.

* * *

Panem High

Chapter 2: Tribute Housing

As soon as the assembly was over, the other students were released to lunch while the tributes had been ushered off backstage by Ms. Trinket. Once they were all backstage Ms. Trinket smiled. "Well, congratulations to you all! Now that you're all tributes, we'll be working very closely, so you may all call me Effie if you wish! Ooh, there is so much to do! Getting you all settled in, tours, assigning you your mentors, training, getting your prep teams! This is going to be so very exciting for you all!"

"Settled in _where_?" Foxface asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Effie smiled. "Well, seeing as you all are tributes you must not be allowed to go home."

"What?" River spoke in shock. She looked around the group and noticed that they weren't kidding and her eyes widened as she shook her head. "No, I can't be here. I need to get home, my brothers and sister-"

"Get over it, you're stuck here," Cato said, cutting her off. "Quit complaining and deal."

Katniss sent a glare towards the blonde and moved closer to her brown haired friend. River looked ready to retort to Cato's comment, but Effie spoke up first. "Come now children, this is no time for a squabble! I'm going to be escorting you to your tribute housing and then I'm sure you'll turn that frown upside down after seeing where you'll be living!"

* * *

"Holy crap..."

The rest of the tributes could only nod in agreement with whoever made the comment. Tribute Housing was amazing. It was a large state of the art building behind the gym and off near the football field. The living room had a large half-circle couch settled in front of huge flat screen TV. There was a shiny state of the art kitchen right behind the living room, with a large island separating the two rooms. Just to the right of the kitchen was an elevator leading to who knows where and on the other side of the room were a bunch of reclining chairs, book shelves, and lamps.

"This is the common room where you may all feel free to come to talk amongst yourselves, help yourselves to meals, or relax! The kitchen is free for you all to use at your convenience, but you must wash anything you dirty!" Effie explained before gesturing to the elevator. "This building has 10 floors: three basement levels, the lobby where we are standing right now, and six floors above us. The levels above us are the sleep quarters! Districts 1 and 2 will share the first floor, Districts 3 and 4 the second, Districts 5 and 6 the third, Districts 7 and 8 the fourth, Districts 9 and 10 the fifth, and Districts 11 and 12 the sixth. The rooms all contain a common room in them as well separating the two district rooms. This lobby will, as I've said, serve as your common room where you will conduct any and all interviews with the exception of the interview prior to the Games. The level directly below us is the Medical Wing where you will go to be treated for any injuries you sustain. Below that is the Prep Area where you will work with your prep team to make sure you look your very best during this entire process, and the very last level is the Training Arena. The name should be self explanatory.

"Now, I'd like you all to head up to your individual rooms so you can meet with your mentors, which you will be sharing with the tributes you are sharing a floor with! As soon as that is done you will all regroup back down here for a lunch that will be prepared for you. You may use the time to speak with your mentors and fellow tributes about possible strategies."

* * *

Districts 1 & 2

"So, looks like I'm working with the Career tributes again this year, huh? You better not complain as much as last year's batch, because they worked on my nerves. Well, I expect you and McKnight to be on your best behavior, Hanson. Unless of course you want extra training and conditioning for the rest of your years on the football team?"

Cato and Marvel traded quick glances that showed they were anything but happy. Glimmer and Clove, however, seemed quite content with the man barking orders at their partners. And why you may ask? The reason was because their mentor was none other than Finnick Odair, hottest gym teacher in all of Panem High... who just happened to also be the Head Coach of the football team. Seeing their coach standing before them in the common room of their floor made Cato and Marvel quickly realize that they were going to be worked to the point of exhaustion, with little room to complain on the matter.

In short, they were screwed.

* * *

Districts 3 & 4

"Oh gosh you four look pathetic. If you have any chance of helping the other tributes win, or winning the MVP awards, you will do what I say, when I say. You will not complain, you will not cry, you will not show weakness. If I deem you aren't competing to your fullest potential I assure you I will rip and drag the potential right out of you. My methods are harsh, but effective. You will become worth something if it's the last thing you do! Do I make myself clear?"

The four tributes merely looked on in fear as they stared down the intimidating Enobaria. She was the girl's lacrosse coach, the girl's soccer team, the field hockey team. She coached almost everything and anything that had intense competition. She was known for being vicious, malicious, and scary as hell. Enobaria noticed the stares her tributes were giving her and she rolled her eyes.

"I got a batch of babies this year."

* * *

Districts 5 & 6

Foxface kept silent as she watched the group interact. Annie Cresta their mentor, and also one the assistant coaches of the track team, was kind and polite to the tributes. She explained her rules (which were quite fair), her training policies, gave some advice, and asked for introductions. The two District 6 tributes (whose names Foxface hadn't concerned herself with learning) looked happy that Annie was to be their mentor, while Kane looked more excited at the fact that their mentor was a woman. Kane would check Annie out when she wasn't aware, and didn't seem to remember the fact that he was dating River.

Foxface had a few classes with River and knew that she was a sweet girl. She was polite, determined, kind, and all around a great person. River would be someone Foxface would consider befriending if she wasn't more focused on being unnoticed.

Instead of dwelling on her non-existent social life, Foxface put Kane's actions into the back of her mind for later. She was sure there would be a time when that nugget of information would come in handy.

* * *

District 7 & 8

"Alright, so I guess I could've gotten a worse group. You guys don't seem so bad, but you guys are going to learn to get better! By the time I'm done with you guys you'll be survival experts!" Johanna Mason, the cross-country coach, exclaimed as she met her tributes.

River shared an uneasy look with her fellow District 7 tribute, a senior named Jayden Dyess. She, Jayden, and the District 8 tributes didn't seem so thrilled to be under the mentorship of one of the most sadistic coaches in the school. Johanna and Enobaria were the two most feared coaches in the entire school. They were merciless and wanted perfection. Anything less would be weeded out and eliminated quick and painfully.

"Ohh and before we get started, do any of you have any breathing or heart conditions I should be made aware of?"

The four tributes gulped.

* * *

District 9 & 10

Blight sighed as he looked at his batch of tributes. Last year he had gotten a pretty good crop. They were all athletes with great potential to be turned into professionals. This year... this year he seemed to get the members of the school that didn't do any other exercise beside what they were required to do in gym class. They all looked scrawny and easily scared. How they were going to help the others with some of the survival challenges, he had no idea. Sighing, he resigned himself to his fate and decided he'd make the most of it.

Hey, at least he didn't have to teach his global classes for two months.

* * *

District 11 & 12

"Oh you have got to be kidding me..." Katniss muttered under her breath as she, Peeta, Thresh, and Rue walked out onto their floor.

Standing in the center of the room, looking completely wasted, was Coach Haymitch Abernathy. Of course with their luck that they would get the only gym teacher that was drunk on a daily basis. The person that was supposed to teach them their survival skills, and train them to keep from losing or getting injured by other tributes from different schools, was the one coach that could barely create a coherent sentence.

"So, yer my group?" Haymitch asked, slurring his words.

"Yeah, you're our mentor," Peeta spoke up first seeing as Rue merely raised an eyebrow, Katniss was ready to face palm, and Thresh just looked indifferent.

"Great. First lesson... someone get me a beer."

* * *

The tributes had all gathered back in the lobby with a wide range of different reactions. The meal was eaten in relative silence as the tributes scoped out the other mentors, who were currently bragging about their tributes and shouting out bets. The tributes all stood quiet while the mentors argued about who would train the best. All at once those that were to be competing shared a look and gulped.

They all knew they were gonna get their asses worked.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey there everyone! I figured out I was going to be going shopping with my mom tomorrow which means I'm not really going to get a chance to update this story (or any other stories) really tomorrow unless I get a lot done when I get back and I still have stuff to do! So I figured I'd give you all a second chapter today to make up for the fact that I might not be updating in a while! Plus I really do like this chapter and I really wanted to update it so you guys see it! I really hope you all like it! It's a pretty long chapter to make up for the short one! Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games, only my OC's.

* * *

Panem High

Chapter 3: Family Interviews

"Which Districts are going first for the Family Interviews?" Annie spoke up after the meal had been eaten and everyone had settled into a tense silence. The mentors all started muttering amongst each other, trying to figure out which of their districts would go first, when a throat being cleared caught their attention. Almost immediately everyone whipped their heads around to stare at River who had started blushing when everyone looked her way.

"U-Um, I was just going to ask what Family Interviews are…" River said sheepishly.

"Oh, right. She's that new transfer we got isn't she?" Enobaria asked as she looked out at the other mentors. "Newbie wasn't brought up to speed yet, eh Johanna?"

"Didn't realize she was a newbie, Enobaria," Johanna fired back, not wanting to look like she wasn't a competent mentor. "We haven't got their files yet."

"Family Interviews," Finnick started—seeing as Johanna and Enobaria looked like they were going to lunge over the table at each other—sending a dazzling smile at River, "are interviews that all tributes are going to have to complete which will be aired to all the homes of all students and faculty members in the participating schools. The interviews consist of bringing the tribute's family members to the school and into the lounge in order for them to have a one-on-one conversation with that specific tribute so we can see a bit about what it is that the tributes have to deal with at home."

"And what if our families choose not to come?" Foxface asked.

Annie smiled at her tribute. "It's mandatory. They can't choose not to come."

"Will the other tributes from our school see our interviews?" Katniss asked, not liking the fact that their privacy was severely lacking.

"Yup," Blight responded, popping the 'p'. "The live feed is going to be sent up to your rooms where you'll be waiting and watching until your time to interview. And if I'm not mistaken, last year we started with District 12 so this year we start with District 1."

"Females first?" Glimmer asked with a raised eyebrow.

Finnick nodded. "As always."

"And when do we start?" Kane asked.

"In ten minutes!" Everyone turned to see Effie walking in, dressed in a vibrant blue poofy dress and insanely large heels. She smiled at the tributes. "Come, come now, Glimmer and Marvel wait in the lounge and everyone quickly upstairs to your rooms! Mentors please clear off the table and then head down to the Prep Level to meet with your tributes' prep teams!"

* * *

"You know, I don't think we're supposed to be up here..."

Katniss rolled her eyes and looked over at Jayden who looked skittish about being in the District 12 room. "If anyone asks, the elevator got stuck," Katniss ordered as she turned to look at River—who was perched on the bed in between her and Jayden—as if she couldn't believe that Jayden was so easily frightened. River merely shrugged and looked towards Peeta who was fiddling with the remote for the TV.

"Did you get it to work yet?"

Peeta shook his head. "Nope, but the screen says that the feed will be up soon, so I think we just have to wait," Peeta shrugged.

The four tributes were up in the District 12 room, seeing as Katniss and Peeta had wanted to keep close to River—making sure she was alright and safe at all times—and Jayden had tagged along because River felt bad leaving Jayden alone. Jayden was sure that they were going to get in trouble—and he really didn't want to piss off Johanna—but instead of freaking out like he did after the first five minutes, he had calmed down some and settled for just voicing his opinion every few minutes.

The TV came to life, startling the four tributes as the Family interview started. There was a brief introduction made by Caesar Flickerman, the face of the Hunger Games and the local news reporter. As soon as his introduction was made, the screen changed to show the lounge of their building, with Glimmer sitting in one of the seats, waiting for someone to walk through the door. It was a few seconds before anything happened, but all at once the door to the building opened up and in walked a beautiful woman with short blonde hair, and a tall man with dirty blonde hair. Both were dressed in expensive clothes and they each had large smiles on their faces as they spotted their daughter.

_"Hi mom, hi dad," _Glimmer said as she waited for her parents to come over and sit in the chairs across from her. As soon as they did, her mom started speaking first.

_"We're so proud of you sweetie. We heard you volunteered this year!" _

Glimmer smiled. _"I felt prepared this year, and Marvel was volunteering this year anyway so it just seemed like the right time." _

_"That's my girl! And I'm glad to see Marvel has got a good head on his shoulders too. I knew I always liked that boy. And it's a good thing he can keep an eye on you,"_ her dad commented.

Glimmer blushed a bit. _"I can take care of myself dad."_

_"I know, but it's nice to know you won't be on your own out there." _

_"You're going to do so well,"_ her mom gushed, standing up and pressing a kiss to her daughter's forehead. Her father mimicked the motion. _"We've got to go now sweetie, but we're so proud of you and we know you're going to end up winning this thing." _

_"Thanks mom. I'll try my best." _

Glimmer's parents got up and walked back out before the screen went back to show Caesar Flickerman. He had a large smile on his face. _"And that was the District 1 Female tribute Glimmer Landsdown! Next we will be taking a look at District 1 Male tribute Marvel Hanson and his father!"_

Peeta muted the TV as the screen went to a commercial, signifying the act of Glimmer and Marvel being traded out and setting up the room for his interview. "Her parents seem pretty cool," River commented offhandedly.

"Seem pretty wealthy, is more like it," Katniss snarked. "Notice they didn't even tell her they loved her?"

"It was implied," Jayden spoke up. "They were obviously worried if they were happy that Marvel was there to help protect her."

Katniss shrugged, still not convinced. "Maybe."

"This is really weird," Peeta stated. "We're just looking into the private lives of people we hate. Why would we even care?"

"Maybe to just show us who we're up against?" Jayden guessed.

"Or it could be to give us a chance to look at them with a different perspective," River supplied.

Katniss laughed. "Stop sounding all philosophical, Riv. We all know you're smarter than us."

"I was just saying," River giggled.

"Shh, it's starting again," Jayden spoke up, grabbing the remote from Peeta and taking it off of mute.

_"I thought you weren't sure about volunteering this year?" _Marvel's dad, a man with well-kept brown hair dressed in a business suit asked as he sat across from his son.

Marvel shrugged with a casual look on his face. _"I was debating it, but Glimmer told me she was considering it so I decided to do it." _

Marvel's dad gained an evil smirk on his face as he leaned forward. _"Eh? So you did this all so you could spend two months alone with your girlfriend, huh?" _

"Ew…" River commented, as Marvel's face on the screen turned a nice shade of red as he tried to respond in a coherent sentence.

_"Dad! It's not like that!" _Marvel exclaimed once he got a hold of his grasp of the English language. His face was still a nice pink color as he looked at anything in the room but his father who was chuckling at his son's discomfort. _"I just wanted to make sure that if anything happens I was there to look out for her… to make sure she was safe."_

"Hm… chivalrous I see," Katniss commented.

"Watching this is like watching daytime TV," Jayden spoke up as he grabbed a pillow from Katniss's bed and began hugging it, staring intently at the screen. Katniss and Peeta shared a look before looking at River who smiled.

"He has three older sisters."

"Ah…"

_"Well, I'm proud of you, Marvel. You make sure to take care of yourself and Glimmer, you got it? She's a good girl." _

_"I know. I will."_

Marvel's dad smirked. _"And don't do anything too scandalous… remember everyone's watching."_

_"DAD!"_

The screen cut back to Caesar, who seemed to be struggling not to laugh, as he spoke about the very teasing and amusing relationship that Marvel seemed to share with his father. _"Next up we'll have the sibling Career tributes Cato and Clove McKnight of District 2!"_

The screen was blank for a few minutes, allowing the four to talk before it went back to the lounge with Cato and Clove sitting on a couch in front of a small woman with blonde hair and who had a bruise on the side of her cheek, and a tall man with black hair and an uncaring look on his face. The woman gave her two children a small smile before looking down at her hands, looking too frightened to speak. The man, however, looked like he had a complete command of the environment. _"You two volunteered or were you reaped?" _

_"Volunteered, sir,"_ Clove responded with no emotion in her voice.

_"Good. And the other tributes this year… do you think you can beat them?" _

_"Yes sir," _Cato responded that time.

_"Marvel and Glimmer are also in the Games this year. Are you ready to do what is necessary to win?"_ Their father asked.

Cato's jaw set. _"You mean are we willing to betray our friends? Then no." _

Their father nodded once. _"I see… you have a weak man's mentality. Sacrifices must be made in order to go farther in life. Keep this in mind: If one of you doesn't win the Games this year, then you are both disowned."_

_"Richard! That's completely—"_

Their father, now known as Richard, whipped his head to glare at his wife, almost daring her to say another word.

"I think it's obvious where she got those bruises from," Katniss commented with a glare on her face.

"Damn and I though Cato was bad…" Peeta muttered.

_"Is that understood?" _He asked, looking back to his children.

Cato and Clove shared an annoyed and upset look before nodding. _"Yes sir." _

As soon as the screen went blank Caesar Flickerman had to work on a way to spin that interview into something positive while talking about the District 4 tributes that were going to be interviewed next. Nothing really would help out that interview though. Any idiot with half a brain could figure out what went on in that house.

"That's so sad…" River said, hugging her pillow slightly. "Could you imagine your parents treating you like that?"

"My mom may not be the best, but at least she isn't that bad…" Peeta commented, remembering all the times his mom used to hit him when he screwed something up, but she never threatened to disown him. The four talked through the District 4 tributes interviews, not really knowing either of the tributes. When District 5 came around they group quieted, seeing Foxface on the screen talking with her grandmother. Her grandmother gave her advice, talking about keeping warm and safe and even gave Foxface a batch of cookies.

"She's so nice!" Jayden complimented. "You think Foxface will share the cookies?"

"Probably not," Peeta laughed.

Katniss looked on the screen and rolled her eyes. "Look who's up next."

They all looked at the screen and Peeta and Katniss groaned, while Jayden wrinkled his nose and River smiled. Up on the screen was Kane, sitting across from his older brother who had longer shaggier hair and more defined facial features. _"How you doing, Kane?" _

_"I'm doing good, not too upset with being reaped, and the environment is pretty cushy."_

_"I hear your little girlfriend got reaped too,"_ his brother commented, yawning as he seemed to be bored.

_"Yeah, River's here," _Kane said, almost seeming as if he weren't at all concerned with the fact that his girlfriend was with him.

His older brother laughed. _"I bet Gale isn't too thrilled about that." _

_"Not at all,"_ Kane laughed with him. _"Hey, take care of my car while I'm gone. I don't want there to be any scratches on her when I get back."_

_"Yeah, yeah I'll take care of her."_

Peeta muted the TV and turned to look at River with an annoyed expression on his face. He gestured to the TV as if the act of pointing explained what he was trying to say. "Do you see that? He's a total asshole! He was more concerned about his damn car!"

"He just doesn't like PDA, or other stuff like that," River defended him, with a pout on her face.

Katniss snorted. "I'm with Peeta on this one. You might as well drop him."

River shook her head. "He isn't good with emotional stuff."

"Um, River… they're already through with the District 6 female…" Jayden spoke up. The four tributes looked up to the screen to see that the District 6 male was talking and nearly done with his interview. River and Jayden shot up from the bed and ran out of the room, shouting a 'be back soon!' over their shoulders. Katniss and Peeta rolled their eyes before looking back at the screen.

"We need to separate them," Peeta spoke up suddenly.

Katniss nodded. "Kane is just gonna end up breaking her heart again."

* * *

"Cato, calm down."

Cato turned to look over at Glimmer, who had attempted to calm him down. Cato and Clove were with Marvel and Glimmer in the District 1 room. As soon as Cato and Clove had come back from their interviews Cato had started fuming about how he wanted to kill his father sometimes. Clove hadn't disagreed, but instead she just went to sit on the bed and hug a pillow. Well if you considered 'hugging' to be synonymous to 'strangling'. Cato, on the other hand, kept pacing around the room, threatening to hurt someone. He had already broken a lamp, and almost broke a window so Glimmer and Marvel had tried to calm him down. The glare that Cato had sent Glimmer caused her to step back and into Marvel, who had pushed her behind him protectively just in case Cato snapped.

"Cato, let's just watch some of the other interviews. We could plot ways to get back at your father later," Marvel said calmly with a crooked grin on his face.

Cato looked at his friend before turning his attention to his younger sister. "It's not worth it, Cato," Clove spoke up, a sad look on her face. Cato clenched his jaw before he exhaled angrily and stomped over to lounge out on Glimmer's bed, grabbing a pillow to put behind his head. Marvel and Glimmer smiled as they each made their way over to the bed, Marvel sitting against the headboard with Glimmer sitting in between his legs, with her back resting against his chest.

"Who's interviewing now?" Marvel asked Clove, who had been watching the interviews instead of paying attention to her brother.

"District 5," Clove responded.

The Careers watched Foxface's interview in silence. As soon as Kane's face came onto the screen, Cato scrunched up his face in concentration. "Where do I know him from?"

"He's in our class with Ms. Trinket," Glimmer supplied helpfully.

Cato sent her a look that said 'no duh'. "I know that, but I feel like that's not all I know him from. Is he on a sports team?"

"He's on the boys' soccer team, but you hate soccer," Clove pointed out.

Marvel snapped his fingers. "Isn't he dating Hawthorne's sister?"

"Oh right, River. They started dating again, like a month ago right?" Clove asked looking towards Glimmer.

Glimmer knew about every relationship that went on throughout the school. After looking up at the ceiling in thought, she nodded. "Yeah, they started up dating again after they broke up two months ago."

"What'd they break up for?" Marvel asked, curiously.

"He got bored with her and dumped her. Then he started to try and go after this girl named Madge, but when she didn't give him the time of day he went back with River," Glimmer explained.

Cato snorted. "And this girl was dumb enough to take him back?"

"Well she was dumb enough to get in your war path earlier today," Marvel pointed out.

Clove shook her head. "No, she's not stupid. She's smart. Everyone knows you don't hit girls, Cato. She figured that if she got in the way and refused to move then you'd back down. And you did."

Silence reigned as they all pondered that. "Hm… you might be right," Marvel mused.

"Still doesn't explain why she took him back," Glimmer reminded.

Cato shrugged. "Well obviously he doesn't give a rat's ass about her if he's talking about his car more than her."

"It's a shame, she's actually really nice," Clove said randomly. All the other Careers looked at her in confusion.

"Since when are you friends with Hawthorne's sister?" Cato questioned.

Clove shrugged and continued hugging—strangling—the pillow. "Remember that time you had to take mom to the hospital for the broken wrist and dad had a business meeting so no one could pick me up from school since my Field Hocky practice was cancelled?" At their nods Clove continued. "Well, she had borrowed a car that morning—I think from one of her neighbors—to pick up her brothers and sister after school because Gale was at home sick. She noticed me standing there and offered to drive me home after picking up her siblings. She went ten miles out of her way to drop me off at the house and refused to take the money I tried to give her for gas. She said it was a favor."

"She did that for you?" Glimmer asked in shock.

Clove nodded. "She's a nice person."

Marvel nodded. "Yeah, I'll say. I don't know a lot of people that would do that."

Cato stood silent as he stored that bit of information away for later.

"Hey, her District is up next!" Glimmer pointed out.

The Careers all snapped to attention as Caesar announced that they were going to interview River next. Cato sat up from the bed and stared intently at the screen. The screen went from one showing the face of Caesar Flickerman to showing River tapping her foot in a nervous manner as she looked towards the door. As soon as the door opened two young boys ran through the doors with a little girl on their heels. River's face exploded into a large grin as she got up from her seat to kneel on the ground, allowing the two boys to plow into her and enveloping them in hugs. _"Rory and Vick, there are my boys! And who is this little one behind you?" _River asked peering behind the two boys, fawning ignorance.

The little girl puffed up her cheeks in a pout. _"It's me, River! Posy!" _

_"That can't be my little Posy, can it?"_ River asked with a smile on her face. All at once she scooped the little girl up and into her arms, the little girl giggling. _"It __**is**__ my little Posy! Look at how big you are! Hey, where are Gale and mom?" _

_"We're over here," _Gale called out as he walked in, pushing a wheelchair containing a thin and frail looking woman. She had a pretty face and short blonde hair. She had a tired smile on her face as she looked to her daughter.

"Her mom is in a wheelchair?" Marvel asked in shock. No one answered his question however as they watched in silence.

_"Boys take a seat," _River spoke up as she sat down with Posy on her lap and looked towards her mother. _"Hey mom… how are you feeling?"_

_"Oh, don't you worry about me! I'm feeling fine!" _River's mom announced.

_"So is it true you're really going to compete in the Hunger Games, Riv?"_ Rory asked excitedly.

River laughed. _"Looks like it."_

_"That's so cool! I bet you're going to do great!"_ Vick gushed.

_"How long are you going to be gone?"_ Her mother asked.

_"Two months,"_ Gale answered for her.

Posy pouted. _"Riv is gonna be gone for two months?"_

River bounced the little girl in her arms and touched her nose to her nose. "_It's going to go by before you even know it. But you guys have to cooperate, understand?" _River started saying seriously as she looked to Posy, Vick, and Rory. _"You guys are going to be staying with Prim and Mrs. Everdeen at their house while Katniss and I compete. Rory and Vick you two are going to help Gale and Prim with whatever they need and look after mom and Posy, okay? Don't cause any trouble for Gale, Prim, Mrs. Everdeen, or mom. Got it?" _

_"Got it! Pinky-promise!" _Both boys shouted running up to wrap their pinkies around their bigger sisters' finger. Posy soon jumped in saying 'promise!' with a cute smile on her face.

_"River… come here a moment,"_ their mom said. River handed Posy to Gale while she walked over to her mom and crouched down in front of her. Their mother began to remove a small and delicate looking necklace that had a red heart shaped gem in the center and small diamonds going along the edges. _"I wanted to give this to you… before I lost the opportunity. And with you going away—"_

Rory, Vick, and Posy didn't seem to understand what was going on but the Careers did. Glimmer's mouth fell open and she quickly moved her hand to cover it. Marvel hugged Glimmer and kissed her neck seeing her reaction, but his eyes never left the screen. Clove's face contorted into one of sadness and sympathy. Cato's jaw set and he looked regretful and almost angry.

_"Mom… no. Just give it to me when I get back, we'll have time then. I'll only be gone for two months," _River said forcing a smile. Gale's face had gone hard as he handed Posy to Vick.

_"I need to give this to you now,"_ her mom responded firmly. Removing the necklace and placing it around her daughters' neck. _"It was your great grandmothers', she gave it to your grandmother, who gave it to me. And now I'm giving it to you."_

_"Why not give it to Posy until I get back?"_ River asked hopefully, searching her mothers' eyes.

Her mother stared at her daughter and kissed her forehead. _"I've already given Posy the heart necklace she loved. I love you so much, and I am so very proud of the beautiful young lady you are turning into."_

_"I love you too mom. I love all you guys, so much."_

_"Boys, take mom and Posy outside; I'll be just a minute," _Gale ordered. Thankfully the boys didn't argue. The three ran over and hugged their older sister before going to do what Gale had told them. Rory grabbed the back of their mother's wheelchair and wheeled her out, while Vick took Posy's hand and walked her out. As soon as the door closed behind them River turned to Gale.

_"How long?" _

Gale's jaw clenched. _"Riv, you shouldn't worry yourself with this when you're—"_

_"Gale, how long?" _

_"Less than three months," _Gale responded with a heavy sigh.

River's eyes widened. _"Less than…"_ River never finished her sentence as she started to fall backwards. Gale quickly moved to catch his sister and carried her to the chair, checking to make sure she was okay. Her eyes were open, so she hadn't passed out. She was just in shock. She turned her gaze to her brother. _"Why? The doctors said she would—"_

_"The doctors said she would get better if she kept taking her medication,"_ Gale started. _"And you know how expensive that is. We're barely making ends meet as it is and paying for the meds… we have to choose between feeding Rory, Vick, and Posy and mom's meds."_

"Oh my God…" Glimmer muttered as she leaned back against Marvel. He in turn hugged her tighter.

River's face was void of all emotions until she nodded her head in acceptance. _"Alright… empty my college fund."_

Gale's eyes widened. _"Riv—"_

_"That should give you enough money to get her meds for the next two years and by then she should be better." _

Gale grabbed her sister's hands and crouched down beside her to look her in the eyes. _"Riv, I can't do that. That's for your future. I'm not—"_

_"Screw my future if it means losing mom, Gale!" _River exclaimed. _"Mom is __**dying**__!We've already lost dad and I'm __**not**__ losing mom too! I can't lose her!" _Gale closed his eyes and clenched his jaw before nodding in agreement. Seeing this, River smiled sadly, shaking her head she pulled her hands from Gale's and ran them through her hair, looking down at her lap. _"How am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to be away for so long knowing what's happening with mom… knowing that Rory, Vick, and Posy go to bed hungry? We've been giving them most of our food for weeks now and with me leaving I'm not going to be there to help you and I… I don't know how I can do this. I'm not strong like you,"_ River whispered helplessly.

_"Hey," _Gale said. River refused to meet his gaze. Gale put his hands on either side of his sisters' face and forced her to look at him. _"Look at me, okay? I'll take care of them. I'll make sure everyone is taken care of and fed and healthy. You just worry about these games, okay? And you __**can **__do this. You're not as strong as me. You're __**stronger**__, do you hear me? You are stronger and you can do this. I've got this piss-poor attitude and I'm mad at the world. You… you never lost faith or your smile. You go out of your way for everyone and you never ask for anything in return. You're so much stronger than me, so I know you can do this. You were made for this. You were made to survive and we were taught by the best. And we'll be with you every step of the way. I'm behind you 100% Riv and you know I'll always be there for you." _

Cato narrowed his eyes at the screen when he realized that Rivers' eyes were watering. She was about to cry, but she still had a smile on her face. That bothered him. The Peacekeepers walked through the door saying their time was up. Gale and River both jumped to their feet, River latching onto her brother in a hug. _"I love you Gale." _

_"I love you too, River. You keep your head up, you can do this!" _Gale shouted as he was being forcibly removed from her sister.

_"Take care of them Gale, don't let them starve!"_ River shouted as her brother was removed from the room.

As soon as he was gone the room fell into silence as River fell back into her chair and buried her face in her hands. The screen changed from River to Caesar who had a slightly sad look in his eyes but a smile on his face. _"And that, ladies and gentlemen, was District 7's female tribute River Hawthorne! There is much strength within this young one! And now for District 7's male tribute Jayden—"_

Cato grabbed the remote and muted the TV, laying back down as he had been before. Marvel and Glimmer looked at Cato in confusion but they didn't break the silence that had just enveloped the room. Clove held onto the pillow and patted her brother's knee slightly, only receiving a pat on her head as a reply. Clove knew not to bug Cato when he was like this. He was in deep thought, and he needed to think through whatever it was that was going on in his head before they could approach him. Marvel, Glimmer, and Clove all sat in silence throughout the rest of the interviews, only glancing up when they noticed the District 11 and District 12 tributes interviewing. Rue and Thresh had a conversation with their parents and uncle, Peeta talked to his mom and dad, and Katniss talked with Prim, her mother, and surprisingly Gale. The three Careers wished they could hear what was going on seeing as Katniss had a very tearful goodbye in her interview with Gale, but no one dared to touch the remote.

Cato had been staring up at the ceiling for a bit over half an hour now, in complete silence. As Caesar Flickerman was wrapping up the interviews for Panem High and moving onto the Family interviews of the other schools Cato shot up from the bed and headed towards the door. He briefly told the other three occupants of the room that he was going back to his room before he walked out and slammed the door, walking through the common room to head to his and Clove's room. He slammed the door behind him and locked it, not wanting anyone to come in. He flopped down onto his bed and continued his process of staring at the ceiling in complete silence.

After his interview he had wanted to hurt his father and he hated everyone except for Marvel, Glimmer, and Clove. He didn't think anyone could understand what he was going through and he didn't care about anyone else at that moment. He thought that he had the biggest problem possible. But after watching River's interview… he was bothered. He didn't want to admit it, but he had been deeply upset by her interview. He had thought that the Hawthorne's were a bunch of middle-class stuck-up snobs who were just upset because they weren't as rich as he was. He had met a lot of people like that; people who were upset because they only had three family cars instead of seven.

But they weren't like that at all. Gale and River were struggling to get by, trying to support three younger siblings and a dying mother having already lost their father. They had taken on more responsibilities than even _his_ parents had and that girl… River… did it with a smile on her face. River had even driven his sister home—when they had treated her and her friends like shit—and refused to accept gas money. She was struggling to feed her siblings and pay for her mother's medications and she still refused, saying it was a favor. She was a cute girl that had been dealt one of the worst hands that life could dish out, but she was still playing it and trying to make it work. Cato had never met or known anyone so selfless in his life. He continued to stare at his ceiling for another hour as he made a decision.

Cato McKnight was going to do anything and everything in his power to help and protect River Hawthorne.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey guys! I loved writing the last chapter because it went into Cato's mind and it showed what the Hawthorne's have to deal with! There is more fluffy stuff like that to come! I really love Cato and I think he needed much love in the books and in the movie seeing as he was just a victim of circumstances and driven mad by the Games. Anyway, getting off my soapbox, this chapter you see the Prep Teams! Next chapter it'll be the training scene and it'll have a bit of a clash between two characters! Hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games, only my OC's.

* * *

Panem High

Chapter 4: Prep Teams

It was around 8 o'clock at night when all of the interviews were over. The tributes were then escorted to the Prep Level of the building by their mentors. The groups of tributes were all keeping to themselves, shifting uncomfortably after what they had witnessed about their fellow tributes. Katniss and Peeta stood close to each other beside Rue and Thresh, the younger girl seeming to have grown closer to Katniss after realizing she was the sister of her best friend, Prim. They kept tossing glances over towards River who was talking with Jayden, a smile on her face. They weren't the only ones keeping tabs on the girl, however. Cato kept looking over at the brown eyed girl when he was sure no one was looking, making sure she was okay. Clove caught sight of him watching the girl a few times and raised an eyebrow in confusion, nudging Glimmer to look over as well. The blonde nodded, seeing the action but sai nothing. They would discuss it later.

Their mentors stood behind them with Effie Trinket standing in front of them, all smiles. "Hello, my dears! You all did phenomenally well during your interviews! Now it's time you all to meet your prep teams! Your prep teams will be responsible for making you look your very best and giving you your image! They will design your look, your competition outfits, your final interview outfit, and your outfits for the actual Games!"

"Competition outfits?" Someone asked.

"Oh yes! It's a fabulous new thing they are doing! It is a sort of competition between the different schools even before the games begin! You will all be in outfits that represent your district, as you compete in various challenges and show your talents! Each school has the same districts and there will be votes to see which Districts had the best outfits! Plus you will all have to have a photo shoot as soon as you're done getting into your outfits which we will use to create our Panem Hunger Games Calendar!" Effie exclaimed excitedly.

"You will also be receiving your training outfits today, which you will be wearing tomorrow at 6 AM sharp," Enobaria barked from the back of the group. "Your prep team will get your size and measurements to create you other outfits."

Effie smiled. "Districts 1 and 2 your prep team is going to be headed by Cecilia. Districts 3 and 4 your prep team leader is going to be Monroe. Districts 5 and 6 you will have Amelia. Districts 7 and 8 you have Portia. Districts 9 and 10 you have Mickey. Districts 11 and 12 you have Cinna."

Marvel, Cato, Glimmer, Clove and the other District 3 and 4 tributes groaned. Cecilia and Monroe were the drama teachers and they were known for their over exaggerations with set and costume designs. Kane, Foxface and the District 6 tributes looked like they were okay with their leader. Amelia was ceramics teacher. Districts 9 and 10 were content with their leader. Mickey was the photography teacher. Jayden, River, District 8, Thresh, Rue, Peeta, and Katniss all signed in relief, thanking their lucky stars. Cinna and Portia were the art teachers.

Almost immediately after their prep teams were announced the mentors all ushered them down a hallway and down separate rooms, depending on their prep teams, separating girls and guys to different sides of the hallway. Katniss kept close to Rue as they were shoved into a room that said '11 & 12' by Haymitch, looking over her shoulder in time to see River and the District 8 girl getting shoved into a room two rooms down from them on their same side of the hallway while Peeta and Thresh were pushed into the room directly across from them. The door was closed behind them and Rue and Katniss looked at each other in confusion. The room was large and spacious. It had a desk, two clinical looking beds, bright lights above their heads, a door off to the right of the room which had 11 & 12 written on it which seemed to be a closet. There was another door to the left of the closet and to the right of it. The one on the left said 'SHOWER' while the one on the right said 'CHANGING'. Two girls walked out of the back room—Katniss picked up on the fact that they were two of Cinna's past student teachers—and quickly began taking their measurements.

"Are you legs shaved?" One of the girls, Octavia, asked both Rue and Katniss after getting their measurements. The two tributes shared a look that said 'we should run' before the girl continued. "I need to make a note of this so that we are aware of what we need to work on before the Tribute Competition in three weeks."

"No…" Katniss said slowly.

"Me either…" Rue added on in embarrassment.

The other girl, Emilia, nodded and pulled out an iPad that had 'RUE' written on the back of it. Octavia grabbed one that said 'KATNISS' on the back. They started pressing something on the surface of the computer before looking back up and studying the two girls. "Eyebrows for both… tweezing hair on the upper lip… smile for us?" Katniss and Rue looked confused before smiling… well Rue smiled. Katniss merely moved her lips away from her teeth in a way that made her look like a serial killer. "Teeth whitening... natural lip color for Rue and a light pink for Katniss…" Octavia got up and went to touch Katniss's hair, only to be batted away by the brunette. Octavia, however, was not deterred. Instead Katniss merely caused more notes to be added. "Katniss's hair is manageable; Rue's hair will take some work. Both of their nails will need intensive help, and I'm assuming that will reflect their toenails as well. Probably bikini and Brazilian waxes; possibly waxing their back. Katniss will need to wax her arms. Facial masks will be required, and make-up and hair trials will need to be done the night before the parade."

"Alright, let's send these to Cinna, and then we'll leave you two girls alone until Cinna comes to meet with you," Emilia stated. She and Octavia pressed a few buttons and typed some things on the iPad before passing them over to Katniss and Rue. "These are yours."

"You're giving us these?" Rue asked in confusion.

Emilia nodded. "These are yours to keep. It's one of the perks of being competitors. You can keep all your music on there, watch movies, and go on the internet. You can also video chat with your fellow tributes, mentors, and your prep teams if you want. It also has the capability of texting as if it were a regular phone. All of the other tributes, your mentors, and our information have been placed into the device so that you just need to look through your contacts to decide who to message or video chat with. This will help us finalize outfit choices, update you on scheduling changes or last minute decisions, and so that you may relieve stress by talking to your fellow tributes or just using it as a computer."

"And we get to keep these after the Games?" Katniss asked, already thinking about how she could sell the iPad to get some money.

"Of course."

"Cool," Rue said with a smile on her face as she started to play around with her iPad.

Emilia and Octavia walked out and left Rue and Katniss alone. "They sure are trying to butter us up, huh?" Katniss commented.

Rue nodded. "It's kinda overwhelming. Can you imagine how much it must've cost to buy an iPad for each of the tributes, the mentors, and the prep team?"

"If they had this much extra money, they should help the community," Katniss suggested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I couldn't agree more."

Katniss and Rue turned around to see Cinna walking through the door, smiling at the two of them. "I never really thought that spending all this money on preparations for this contest was warranted," Cinna spoke up as he stopped in front of them. He shook Rue's hand then Katniss's before sitting down in one of the seats in front of the two girls. "So you two are my lovely ladies this year, I see? I know your mentors are going to try and get you out of here as soon as possible because you have an early training session tomorrow morning, and so we can work, so I'll be quick. I watched both your interviews and I must say I'm very impressed by both of you. I'm thrilled to be working with you, and I want you both to know that it is not my job to make you beautiful—you both do that naturally. My job is to help you make a statement. I will be in touch with both of you and I'll be asking you frequent questions throughout the next few weeks to get an idea of what it is that you girls will need for your Competition outfits."

Katniss and Rue nodded in understanding and Cinna stood up to grab an iPad which was on his desk and started playing around with it. He headed towards one of the closets in the room. Opening it he pulled out two duffel bags; one that said District 11 and one that said District 12. Messing around on the device again he quickly pulled out two black and red spandex suits and placed them on the chair beside him. He then rummaged around and started pulling off sweatpants, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, and other clothing items and throwing them into Rue's bag before doing the same thing for Katniss's. He then took the two suits he had originally taken out and put the smaller one in Rue's bag and the larger one in Katniss's. He then closed both bags and turned to hand them to each girl.

"These are some of the clothes you're going to be wearing during your time here. They're the best fit we have for your sizes right now, but by tomorrow afternoon we should have clothes for your size," Cinna explained. "And the suits are your training suits. Wear them every day for training. They're flexibly and breathable, but they're not too tight so it should be a comfortable fit. Leave them in your bathroom at the end of the day and one of the members from the Prep team will make sure it's washed for the next morning."

"Thanks Cinna," Katniss thanked.

Cinna smiled. "Don't mention it. Just head up to your rooms and get a good night sleep. I'll get your clothes up to you by tomorrow afternoon and start working on sketches tonight."

"Will you be showing us any sketches you make?" Rue asked curiously.

"If you'd like, then yes," Cinna spoke kindly.

There was a knock on the door before it opened, showing Haymitch with Peeta and Thresh behind him. "Let's go you two. We have to be up early tomorrow," Haymitch ordered.

Rue and Katniss both stood up, grabbing their bags and iPads before saying goodbye to Cinna who had stood up to walk them to the door. As soon as they were in the hallway, Katniss and Rue saw the mob of other tributes, with duffel bags and iPads in hand. Some of them were chattering excitedly, and some looked bored. Katniss caught sight of River with Kane near the middle of the pack and glared at the fact that while Kane had his arm over River's shoulder, he was checking out every girl who walked by him. She couldn't run forward and pry them apart sadly, so she just settled for merging into the group with Peeta, Thresh, and Rue to head towards the elevator so they could get to their rooms and get to sleep.

* * *

Katniss shot out of bed the next morning to the sound of an alarm blaring just by her head. Looking around immediately to see where the noise was coming from she sighed when she noticed it was her iPad. Sighing she grabbed the device and looked at it, noticing that the alarm said 'TRAINING SESSION'. "Hey Peeta, it's time for training," Katniss announced as she climbed out of her bed and popped her back. Looking over at the bed a few feet away from hers she saw Peeta sprawled out on the bed, with his head underneath his pillow, not looking like he had heard her at all.

"Peeta, get up," Katniss tried again as she went searching through her bag to grab her training outfit. She quickly made her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth and put her hair into a braid. She then changed into the tight training outfit, and examined herself in the mirror. It was definitely not the type of clothes she was used to wearing, but she would deal with it. Putting on some deodorant and checking her reflection once again she walked out of the bathroom to go get some socks and put on her sneakers. She looked over at her blonde friend and noticed he hadn't moved an inch since she had left. "Get up Peeta," Katniss ordered as she sat on her bed to put on her socks and sneakers. She counted to three in her mind when she got her sneakers on and then turned around. Peeta was still asleep.

Katniss nodded and walked back into the bathroom and grabbed a pitcher that was in there for some unknown reason. Filling the pitcher up with the coldest water possible, Katniss walked out of the bathroom to stand over Peeta's bed. "Peeta, last chance to get up," Katniss warned as she nudged the boy with her foot. He merely mumbled incoherently and shifted his position to get more comfortable. "Okay, well I warned you."

Katniss poured the entire pitcher of water onto Peeta's head, causing the boy to shoot up from his bed and shout. Peeta looked around in shock before noticing Katniss laughing with the empty pitcher still in her hands. "You're evil, I hope you know that."

"What was all the commotion about?" Haymitch asked as he walked into the room. He noticed the empty pitcher in Katniss's hands and that Peeta was soaking wet. He smirked and turned to walk away. "Nice work sweetheart, now I don't have to get him up myself."

Peeta glared at the door and Katniss before getting up and grabbing his duffel bag to head into the bathroom. Katniss merely laughed as she walked out of the room into the common room to see Thresh and Rue already there. "Morning," Thresh said briefly before going back to tying his sneakers on the couch.

"Morning," Katniss greeted back. She was making progress with the boy. Before he didn't even look at her, now he had actually greeted her. Rue smiled up at her.

"Hey Katniss, where's Peeta?"

Haymitch started laughing. "He had an accident with some water."

Katniss narrowed her eyes at her mentor in confusion. Something was different about him, but she couldn't place it… what was it?

"You're sober."

Katniss looked over at Thresh who had spoken before looking back at Haymitch. Her eyes widened when she realized he was right. Haymitch Abernathy, the school drunk, was actually sober for the first time in Katniss's career at the school. Haymitch rolled his eyes at the shocked looks he was getting. "I don't drink when I'm working with the tributes. Plus Effie got onto my ass for being drunk the first day and she confiscated all my booze. I don't get to drink for the next two months until this stupid contest is over."

Well that explained it.

"Alright, I'm ready," Peeta spoke up as he walked into the common room. He, like the others, was dressed in the black suit with red trimmings down the side. "Are we heading to get breakfast first?" Peeta questioned curiously.

Haymitch snorted. "If you want to throw up during training, sure go ahead." When no one responded he got up. "Alright, let's go. We're heading to the Training Area. You get to eat as soon as the morning training session is done, then you get time to shower. Afterwards you have mandatory survival 101 courses and then an afternoon training session. After that you eat lunch, then you have a team building activity with all the other tributes, then dinner, and then you have the rest of the day to yourselves. This will be your schedule for the next month of training while meeting with your Prep teams on occasion."

Rue frowned. "Do we get days off?"

"Sunday's you get a lighter schedule, if you count that as a day off."

Katniss sighed. "This is going to be a pain, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it will. Now, let's head down to the Training Area; the other tributes are probably already there."

* * *

**Just a quick question for all you guys just out of curiosity! Do you want me to save River's mom or have her die? This won't really affect what I already have planned, but I'm actually really curious as to what you guys think! Tell me should she live or die! **


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter and I liked how all you guys wanted their mom to live! Now whether she will or not is the question... MUAHAHAHAHA! Anyway, that will be found out at a later time! This is the Training Scene which, as I said, will have a confrontation between two of the characters! Oh and just a note, there is going to be a lot of Cato/OC fluff as this story progresses. I will try and get some Katniss/Peeta, Marvel/Glimmer, and Thresh/Foxface in here as well, and theres going to be a lot of Kane bashing, because I don't like him. Oh and if you guys noticed the Power Rangers names that I used for the last names of the Careers, I decided to go with the whole Power Ranger name thing, so the other tributes are going to be given the names of the Ninja Storm Power Rangers, my OC rangers, and two rangers from Dino Thunder! I figured it would be easier than naming each tribute individually.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games, only my OC's.

* * *

Panem High

Chapter 5: Training

"Alright everyone listen up! Today we're going to start training!" Finnick barked out to the group as soon as District 11 and 12 had shown up. The tributes were all standing in a large space that looked like it was the size of their football stadium. There were high ceilings, no doors, and just open space. In that space there were rock walls, an intense version of monkey bars, a movable bridge, an area for sparing, an area with platforms of different heights near each other, targets, an in-ground pool, ropes hanging from the ceiling, cargo nets, mats covering every inch of floor, a section in a corner of the room that had rows of desks and a large Smart-Board on the wall, an area where the bathrooms were located, and a refreshment and snack area.

It was like a giant playground for big kids.

"Your mentor is going to take you through some of the various courses here depending on what it is they want to work on, and there will be times when you are going to be working with people other than those in your District groups. My advice is learn to start working together now because we have team building activities later today and these people next to you are going to be your only allies out there during the Games," Annie explained after Finnick had gathered everyone's attention. "Alright my tributes follow me to the cargo net!" Foxface, Kane, and the District 6 tributes all walked over with Annie to the ropes course, away from the others.

"Careers come with me to the monkey bars!" Finnick ordered, turning to head towards the monkey bars with Cato, Clove, Marvel, and Glimmer at his heels.

"Y'all come with me to the pool," Blight said quietly to his tributes, knowing they were already overwhelmed as it was and that they didn't need to be screamed at.

"Maggots come with me to the mats!" Enobaria barked.

"We're going to the climbing wall!" Johanna shouted.

"So are we," Haymitch added on getting a glare from Johanna. "What? Every other place that requires little to no work for me to do is taken."

"Fine."

The two teams started walking over to the rock wall when they heard someone shout out and a loud thud. "Marvel!" Glimmer called out in concern as she looked down at her boyfriend who was lying on the mat underneath the monkey bars 7ft above the ground. "You okay?"

Marvel lifted his arm to give her an okay symbol up before he pushed himself off the ground. "Walk it off Hanson!" Finnick shouted while laughing. Glimmer looked slightly frightened because she was next on the monkey bars before she saw that Marvel was waiting by the ground for her. Glimmer grabbed the rings attached to the bars and tried to maneuver them up and over the bump in the bars to move onto the next one. She succeeded in moving one ring but when she tried the other, the jolt of the ring moving down suddenly caused her to lose her grip on the rings and fall. Thankfully, Marvel moved to catch her so she didn't land as painfully as he did.

"Those don't look fun," Peeta commented.

Thresh narrowed his eyes at the obstacle. "Doesn't look too bad."

"Focus on your own obstacle boys," Johanna commented as they made it over to the rock wall. "Alright boys from each group grab a harness!" She ordered as she pointed to the harnesses on the ground. Jayden, Peeta, Thresh, and the District 8 boy, named Shane, each walked forward to grab a harness and started to fasten it around their waists with some help from Johanna and Haymitch when they needed it. Johanna then grabbed belays connected to repelling rope and started attaching a belay to each boys' harness. "Alright, you boys are going to climb up to the very top of the wall and hit the buzzer on the top of the wall. First one who does this doesn't have to run a lap around here.

"That's all we have to do?" Shane asked as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

Johanna's mouth twitched the slightest bit. "Yup, that's all."

"Girls, get your harnesses on for your turn," Haymitch instructed, bringing out four more harnesses and handing them to the girls.

"Boys, go on my mark! Ready… go!"

The boys all started climbing up the wall, grabbing handholds and hoisting themselves up. They were about four feet off the ground when they started to realize that climbing was not as easy as they had originally thought. Thresh was a rather large boy and he was having trouble holding onto the fake rock with one hand, while trying to reach up for another, while both his feet were trying to stay on one hold. Peeta had lost his footing and was hanging from the wall by one arm as his other arm flailed around trying to find a place to grab. Jayden had gotten a bit higher up, but he had gone into a corner were there were no close handholds or footholds so he was essentially stuck. Shane kept moving back and forth between the same spots, trying to come up with how to climb higher.

Jayden was the first one to drop after realizing that he wouldn't get anywhere, followed closely by Shane after he lost his footing. The two boys were lowered to the ground by the ropes and were promptly glared at by Johanna for falling first. Peeta let go not long after then when he couldn't find a handhold and Thresh fell after his feet lost their grip. As soon as all the boys were on the ground Johanna had ordered them to remove the belays and hand them to the girls before running a lap. "Nice try guys," River said with a teasing smile on her face while Katniss, Rue, and Skyla, the District 8 girl, were struggling not to start laughing.

"Let's see you try it," Shane said glaring at the girls before he ran off with the other guys.

"Shit!"

Everyone whipped around to see Cato lying on his back on the mat where Marvel was previously at, not at all happy that he had fallen off the monkey bars. "You okay?" Clove asked from her spot above her brother on the platform.

"Fine," Cato grumbled as he got up and walked around to run a lap.

"How the hell do I get out of this?!" Kane shouted as he got tangled in the cargo net, causing Foxface, Dustin and Alex (the District 6 tributes) to start laughing seeing as they had already finished climbing it.

"Stop moving around so much," Foxface said with a grin on her face.

"Looks like we're not the only ones having trouble," Jayden pointed out as he noticed everyone having trouble with their obstacles. Districts 3 and 4 were getting destroyed on the mats by Enobaria and were forced to run laps every time she pinned them to the ground. The Careers couldn't seem to get past the monkey bars and were reduced to running as well. Kane wasn't doing too well in the Cargo net but Foxface, Dustin, and Alex had already moved past that and they were on the rope climbing, but they were having trouble. Blights tributes were borderline drowning in the pool because of all the things he was making them do. And as the boys had recently found out, the climbing wall wasn't as easy as it looked.

The boys kept glancing over their shoulders to see the girls and saw that they were still getting their harnesses on. They picked up the pace quickly in order to get back over to the wall just as the girls were going to start. "Alright, good luck, you'll need it," Peeta said, looking at the wall as if it were the cause of all problems in the world.

The girls all nodded to him and waited for Johanna. "Ready… go!"

The girls took off, climbing the wall. As soon as they reached four feet, like the boys, Skyla ran into trouble. Unlike the boys, Rue, Katniss, and River kept pressing on. Katniss was holding her own fairly well, but River and Rue had passed the girl with the braid and were expertly climbing the wall with speed. Little Rue was ahead of River, but both girls were nearing the top of the wall and River was catching up. In the end, Rue managed to hit the buzzer just before River had, letting a siren go through the room as her light above her glowed, signifying she was first. Katniss managed the get to the top just three seconds after the first two, while Skyla had fallen around the same area the boys had.

"At a girl, River!" Johanna complimented, happy at least _one_ of her tributes reached the top.

"Nice work you two," Haymitch said looking up at his two female tributes. "But you all still have to run a lap except for Rue."

"Aw man…"

The girls repelled down and unhooked themselves in order to run—except for Rue who smiled at winning—and handed the ropes to the boys who had to do the wall again. The cycle repeated itself for over an hour before the mentors gave their tributes a fifteen minute water break. Immediately it was like a stampede headed to the refreshment station where Effie was helping to hand out water and snacks to the tired tributes.

Katniss, Peeta, Thresh, Rue, and River were a few of the last people to make it to the stand, seeing as Jayden, Skyla and Shane had run off ahead of them, and had to wait in order to get water which they all desperately needed. "This is exhausting," Peeta complained as they waited on line. "How could you girls climb all the way to the top? That thing is impossible!"

"Rue's teeny tiny so she can climb really fast," Katniss explained. "And River and I are used to climbing trees so we can hunt, remember Peeta?"

"You both hunt?" Thresh asked with a raised eyebrow.

River nodded with a small smile on her face. "We have to hunt to feed our families. That's really how we've been making it all this time."

Thresh nodded in respect before frowning. "Isn't hunting locally illegal?"

"If you get caught, yes," Katniss smirked.

Rue looked up at her older brother with a sad expression on her face. "I'm really thirsty."

Thresh, the phenomenal older brother he was, grabbed the nearest tribute who had an unopened bottle of water—which happened to be the District 10 tribute, Blake—and glared at Blake until he voluntarily handed the bottle over to the larger more intimidating boy. Thresh smirked before handing the bottle to his younger sister. "There you go," Thresh said with a smile on his face.

Rue, on normal circumstances would've given the water back and chastised Thresh for intimidating someone into giving up their water, but she was extremely thirsty so she just smiled gratefully at her brother and started drinking the cool liquid. Peeta frowned. "Think you can do that four more times?" Peeta asked looking to Thresh.

"Nope," Thresh said honestly, seeing as he didn't want to do it again. "We'll have to wait."

"This is a really big group," Katniss commented as she tried to stand on her tip-toes to see over the other people gathered around the stand. "It'll take a while until we get to the front."

A water bottle and a granola bar were placed in River's hands suddenly, startling the girl and the District 11 and 12 tributes around her. They all whipped their heads around and their eyes widened at who was in front of her. Cato McKnight stood in front of them, looking down at River as if he wasn't completely aware of the shocked glances he was receiving from the other tributes. River looked at him in confusion.

"Hydration is important when exercising and you looked like you could use something to eat. I would've gotten you a Gatorade but I didn't know what kind you like," Cato said as if that explained why he had suddenly given her the food and water.

"Orange...?" River answered uneasily.

"Alright, I'll remember next time."

"What the hell are you doing over here?" Peeta asked in surprise.

Cato looked away from River to glare at Peeta. "Isn't it obvious?"

_"Why_ are you over here?" Katniss corrected, giving Cato a narrowed gaze.

Cato shifted his glare from Peeta to Katniss. "Doing her a favor; I owe her one."

River's eyes widened as she looked over from Clove who was watching the scene with the other Careers, then back to Cato. She put it together quickly and realized exactly what Cato meant. She smiled and looked up at the boy, who was still glaring at her friends. "Thank you Cato. I guess that makes us even, huh?" River guessed.

Cato's attention was immediately brought back to the brunette girl in front of him. He gave her something that could be considered a small smile and shook his head. "No, we're not even yet. I'll work on that though."

"Yo, McKnight!"

Cato turned his head to see Kane walking up to him with a glare leveled his way. "What are you doing over here by my girl, McKnight?" Kane demanded, gaining the attention of all the tributes and the mentors. Cato's jaw clenched as soon as Kane started talking and he sent a glare at the boy.

"What's it to you? It isn't any of your damn business."

Thresh pulled Rue out of the line of fire while Peeta and Katniss stepped back, feeling conflicted. They really didn't like Cato because he was an ass, but he had at least helped River. Then there was Kane who they really didn't like because he kept breaking River's heart. Who they were going to side with? It took a large internal battle from both of them before they went with the lesser of two evils, hoping that Cato knocked Kane out.

"It is my business when you're hanging around my girl," Kane hissed.

"Kane stop it, he was just giving me water," River said trying to resolve the situation.

Cato ignored her comment and looked at Kane with a smirk on his face. "With the way you take care of her she might not be yours for long."

"Oohh!" Marvel said causing the other tributes to 'ooh' along with him. He had a smirk on his face as he moved to stand by Cato, flanking him. "Good one, Cato. So is he giving you trouble?" Marvel asked his happy demeanor melting away as he glared at Kane, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey let's all just calm down, okay?" River said, once again getting in the middle of a potential fight.

"Keep quiet and stay out of this River," Kane ordered.

Cato growled. "Don't talk to her like that!"

"Hey! Cut it out now!" Blight shouted as he and Finnick moved through the crowd to push Cato and Marvel and Kane away from each other. Finnick looked to River, who was looking startled by everything, and sent her a disarming smile.

"Go over to your mentor, she'll want to tell you what you'll all be doing next," Finnick said. River nodded once and sent Katniss and Peeta a glance before moving through the crowd to head over to Johanna who was waiting for her by the other mentors. Finnick then turned to glare at Marvel and Cato, causing both boys to wince. "You both are going to sprint around here for the next fifteen minutes. Now."

Cato glared over at Kane—who was being yelled at by Blight seeing as Annie was too busy trying to help Effie hand out drinks and granola bars to intervene in the matter—before snorting and turning to run with Marvel. Kane got sent by Blight to do wall-sits for fifteen minutes, causing the boy to groan.

Everyone else around the group was still in shock, all wondering what the hell happened.

* * *

The rest of the training session went relatively well, with minimal snide remarks being thrown around by Cato and Kane. Soon the tributes were sent up to eat breakfast, which had been prepared by Effie and the Prep teams after she had finished helping with the refreshments in the Training Arena. Breakfast was relatively silent because of how hungry the tributes all were and because of the obvious tension in the air. Cato kept glaring at Kane over the table, and Kane would glare back at Cato from his spot next to River. As soon as Cato had looked their way Kane had pulled River's chair closer and threw an arm around her shoulders. Cato had in turn glared at Kane with a higher intensity and tore into his poor pancakes more savagely. Throughout the process River had thrown looks over at Katniss that practically screamed 'help me!' and Katniss had nodded in understanding and had started to try and make light conversation.

Her attempt had been successful for the most part until either Cato or Kane would shoot their conversation down with one harsh and well-worded comment.

"I'm done," River said pushing back her chair and moving away from Kane's arm after she finished eating her breakfast

"Stick around a while," Kane commented, not even bothering to look at his girlfriend, while Cato's attention had been diverted for a moment by her voice.

"I'm going to go shower," River replied.

"Take a shower later."

"You don't own her, she can decide what she wants to do," Cato retorted.

A silence hung in the air.

"Well, I'm done!" Shane said suddenly, getting up from the table, with Skyla following suit quickly. As soon as they had gotten up and left, people started getting up to leave; no one wanted to be in the hostile atmosphere that the two boys had created. The shuffle of feet and chairs had ended leaving only the Careers, Katniss, Peeta, Thresh—who had sent Rue upstairs—Foxface, Kane, and River.

"You seem to be really interested in River, McKnight," Kane observed.

Cato narrowed his eyes. "She helped Clove out, so I owe it to her to help her out."

"So what's your beef with me?"

"You stepped to me first and I don't like assholes like you that treat women like trash."

Katniss abruptly stood up from the table and elbowed Peeta. "You know a shower does seem like a good idea, Riv. Come on, let's go."

River beamed at her friend as she got up from the table and practically skipped over to her side. Katniss quickly wrapped her arm around River's shoulders while Peeta walked behind the two girls, creating a barricade between the female Hawthorne and the two boys in the dining area. As soon as the three had left, then tension seemed to slowly melt away. Kane grumbled and got up to head to the elevator with Foxface and Thresh following after—both of the making sure that Kane wouldn't do something idiotic. The Careers sat at the table until the three of them had gotten in the elevator and the doors closed.

"What was that all about?" Clove asked as soon as they had left.

Cato shrugged. "He was being an ass."

"And normally you wouldn't care if he was being an ass, because it didn't concern you," Clove retorted. "And what was with saying your being nice to her cause I owed her?"

"It's true," Cato responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Glimmer shook her head. "You never go _that_ far for someone you owe. You almost started a fight with him."

"Like I said, he was being an ass."

Marvel narrowed his eyes. "You sure that's the only reason why?"

"What other reason would there be?" Cato asked, with a quirked eyebrow. He had a challenging look on his face that dared Marvel to say something.

"Alright, if you say so. But I'm gonna agree with River on something… I need a shower."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Alright so that was a little chapter where some tension starts to develop between a few of the characters and this tension is only going to grow and grow until it sort of explodes lol. Anyway, I like writing for Cato because I think it's interesting trying to get into his mind; his mind before he got into the Hunger Games that is! Anyway, here's chapter 6! Hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger games, only my OC's.

* * *

Panem High

Chapter 6: Survival Skills

"That had to be the most awkward and weird thing I've experienced in my life!"

Katniss and Rue nodded sympathetically as they sat with River in her room. The girls had just finished showering and changing into their district sweat clothes seeing as the Prep team still hadn't gotten their fitted clothes up to the tributes. Rue was dressed in a pair of black basketball shorts that had to be rolled up and a grey sweatshirt that had 'DISTRICT 11' printed on it bold black letters. Katniss was wearing black shorts with a grey t-shirt that was too big for her and said 'DISTRICT 12' in black letters. River had on black sweatpants with a grey t-shirt that said 'DISTRICT 7'. Katniss and Rue had gone down to River's room to check on the girl and had found her flopped on the bed.

"I mean what was that about anyway?" River asked desperately as she looked at the two girls for help.

Rue shrugged. "It sounded like Cato might actually like you."

River shot up from bed so fast she nearly fell over the side and Katniss looked at Rue as if she had grown a second head.

"That's not possible. Cato hates everyone except for the Careers. And he definitely hates us. He wouldn't like River," Katniss explained to Rue. River nodded in agreement.

"He's just being nice because I helped Clove out one time."

Rue nodded in understanding before pouting. "Well Kane doesn't really seem to like him."

"Cause Kane is an ass... no offense of course River," Katniss said.

"None taken. He was acting really weird today."

"I hope whatever happened between them doesn't continue," Rue spoke up. "Or else this is gonna be a long two months."

"River, if you're done sulking then we gotta go to the survival classes," Jayden called out through the door. Jayden had been kicked out as soon as he had finished showering and changing because River had needed girl-talk.

Katniss sighed. "C'mon, might as well get this over with."

"And you need your iPad for notes or something!"

"Crap," Katniss muttered

River smiled as she grabbed her own iPad. "I'll meet you guys down there."

* * *

After going back up to their rooms to get their iPad, Katniss and Rue made their way back down to the Training Arena where nearly all the tributes were at. District 5 and 3 were MIA, but everyone else was there. They were all standing in the 'survival' area that consisted of the classroom set up as Annie and Finnick started pushing desks together in pairs.

"What's going on?" Rue asked as she walked up to her older brother.

Thresh, who had been leaning against the wall talking to Peeta, looked down at his sister. "They said something about a seating chart and pairing us up, so that we can form bonds with people other than our District partners."

Districts 3 and 5 made their appearance and Enobaria snorted. "Finally, now we're going to give you guys your seating assignments! Up in the first two seats on the first row we're going to have Marvel and Rue, next to them it's Dustin and Skyla, and next to them we'll have Jayden and Clove." Thresh didn't look all too happy about being separated from his sister but didn't voice any complaints. The six that were called out all moved to sit in the first row of seats. "Alright in the second row it's going to be Shane and Tori, Hunter and Mike, and Blake and Danni." The six of them looked pretty happy with their partners before going forward to sit down. "Third row we're going to have Cato and Katniss, Thresh and Foxface, and Peeta and Glimmer." Peeta wrinkled his nose a bit and sent Katniss a look that asked her if she'd be okay. Katniss nodded and walked forward to take her seat next to Cato as Peeta sat next to Glimmer. "And in the last row we'll have Cam and Kira, Kane and River, and Conner and Alex."

When it was announced that Kane and River were going to sit next to each other, Katniss and Peeta rolled their eyes while Kane smirked.

"Uh-uh, that last row isn't going to work," Finnick cut in, before Kane and River could sit down.

Enobaria glared at the man. "And why not?"

"Kane and River are dating, and the whole point is to get them with people they don't normally associate with," Finnick replied easily turning Kane's smirk into a scowl.

Blight frowned. "If we change the back row we may have to end up redoing the entire seating chart."

"Then just switch my tribute out with someone else," Johanna said, trying to solve the situation.

"Who are we going to switch her with?" Annie asked, scanning the group.

Haymitch, who had been largely silent through the entire process, soon had a particularly evil smirk spread across his face which most of the tributes caught. "Why don't we just switch my tribute with River? I'm sure Katniss wouldn't mind sitting with Kane and River wouldn't mind sitting with Cato."

Haymitch was an evil, evil man.

Kane looked like he was ready to get up and strangle the mentor for even suggesting the idea, while Katniss hid a small smile, silently applauding her mentor. Cato wasn't at all secretive of the smirk on his face while River looked pretty okay with the entire thing. Finnick looked over at the man with a raised eyebrow. He knew exactly what it is that Haymitch was trying to do. He wanted to poke and prod at whatever it was that had caused Cato and Kane to nearly have it out during training and he knew that the Hawthorne girl was at the center of it. Finnick knew exactly what Haymitch was doing.

And that was exactly why he had agreed.

"I think it's a good idea. River and Katniss, please switch spots."

The two girls got up to switch, Katniss giving Kane a triumphant smile while Cato looked up at River as she sat down beside him.

"Perfect! Now let's begin!" Haymitch said trying not to laugh as Kane glared his way. "The people sitting next to you are going to be your partners for Survival courses for the remainder of your time in Tribute Housing. Get to know them, get to like them, because they may be the difference between you surviving and failing out there in the Games. We're going to be teaching you various survival skills like making fires, finding water, making shelters, first aid, etc. We will teach you the basics and how to use these skills then you will practice these skills with your partner until you have perfected them. Then we will take you outside of the Tribute Housing to practice your skills in actual real-life settings. During these tests we will not assist you and you must rely solely on your partner."

All of the tributes started murmuring uneasily as they looked at their partners.

"Today we're going to start with something simple: creating fire," Annie spoke up. She gestured to Blight who turned off the lights while she turned on the Smart-Board, showing a slide-show having to do with making a fire outdoors. There were pictures of leaves, sticks, and pine cones. "In order to make a fire out in the elements, you'll need something that'll actually catch fire. Don't grab rocks or something else like that. Leaves and pine cones burn nicely, as do sticks. In order to make the fire you can either grab two sticks and rub them together or grab a rock that can be used as a striking rock," Annie explained as she changed the slides.

Most of the tributes had been using the iPads to type away whatever notes they thought were important except for River, Foxface, and Katniss.

"To keep the fire contained you should use rocks to form a small pit so it won't spread and keep all the leaves, twigs, or pine cones in it. As soon as you get the fire set you can cook, keep warm, or use it as a torch, depending on what you needed the fire for. In order to put the fire out you should pour water over it," Blight added on.

Katniss raised her hand into the air. "Yes, sweetheart?" Haymitch asked in a patronizing tone.

"Pouring water on fire makes smoke billow and makes it more obvious to other schools where we are."

"She's right; dirt is more effective," Foxface agreed immediately.

Enobaria looked impressed. "Well looks like there are some kids with brains in this batch after all."

"Katniss and Foxface are both correct," Johanna said stepping forward. "Water does make the smoke billow after putting out fire, while putting dirt on it doesn't have the same effect. It's a quicker and easier way to put it out without being noticed if you don't want to be. Now those are the only things we can really tell you about making fire, the rest you need to learn from experience so there are stations set up on the mats where you can practice making fire. Don't set each other ablaze, please? We don't want to use the Medical Wing just yet."

* * *

"Do you want me to try?" Rue asked as she tried not to laugh in amusement at Marvel trying desperately to make fire with the two sticks in his hand. To Marvel's credit, he wasn't the only one having difficulties, but Rue just found it amusing that he was trying so hard that he had actually started talking to the sticks as if that would help. He was at the point of begging and making agreements with the two pieces of wood.

Marvel looked up at Rue and gave her a determined look. "I've got this! I'll make fire!"

Rue shrugged and wondered if she should tell him that he was about to break the sticks in his hands from the force of—

SNAP!

"Aw damn it!"

Oh well, too late.

* * *

"I'm convinced this is impossible," Jayden grumbled as he handed the rocks over to Clove at the same time she had handed the sticks over to him. The two had been alternating methods of creating fire with minimal success. They had already created a nice little pit with leaves and pinecones but they had yet to get a spark to actually make the fire.

"How do they expect us to set a fire indoors?" Clove asked as she hit the rocks together, trying to get a spark.

"I think they want to see us struggle."

* * *

"So, I'm guessing you don't know how to set a fire either, do you?" Peeta asked Glimmer, who was looking at the sticks and rocks as if they were foreign objects. When she shook her head Peeta sighed and nodded. "I figured as much. I don't know how to do this either."

"Really?" Glimmer asked, excited that she wasn't the only inept one.

Peeta grabbed the rocks and started banging them together while talking. "Yup, I just use fire to bake bread and cakes. I don't ever have to make fires."

"You bake?"

"Yeah, my family has a shop."

Glimmer had her eyes opened wide. "Is it 'The Seam' downtown?"

"Yeah, that's us."

"I love your cupcakes! Those are my weaknesses!" Glimmer exclaimed excitedly.

Peeta blinked in shock, before grinning. "Thanks, I actually make them myself."

"That's so awesome! Can you—" Glimmer cut herself off and looked down. Peeta looked down and noticed a small little spark in the leaves and pinecones. The two shared a look before they both bent down to start blowing on the spark softly to get it to spread. It spread and soon they had a small little fire going.

"Yes! We did it!"

* * *

Foxface watched as Thresh tried to set the fire. It wasn't working however, because Thresh wasn't taking his time, and instead was rushing through the process in order to set the fire. The boy looked up from his work and noticed the red-head watching him. He narrowed his eyes a bit as if concentrating on something before handing the sticks to Foxface. "You know something I don't, don't you?" He asked, though it was more of a statement.

Foxface merely smiled and took the sticks from his hand and rubbed them together for a few minutes before getting a spark. She then started blowing on the spark until it grew. As soon as she was done and the got a fire, she looked at Thresh and nodded. "I may know a thing or two."

* * *

"I can do it if you want," River suggested while she looked at Cato struggling to set the fire. She had originally reached for the sticks but he had gotten them first, assuring her that he could do it. And that was over five minutes ago. Cato had already snapped both sticks in half from the force he was using and was reduced to using the smaller pieces to try and create the fire. River had offered help before but he had declined. She didn't know if it was a male pride thing, but she let him continue trying until it looked like he was going to snap the small pieces too.

"I've got this," Cato assured as he concentrated on the sticks in front of him as if staring at them long enough coupled with the rubbing would help them spontaneously catch on fire.

River pouted as she rested her head in her hand as she sat cross-legged and put her elbow on her knee. "You sure? I think I can help."

Cato looked up at her and was about to argue when he noticed her bored expression as she watched him try. It killed his man pride a little on the inside but instead of saying he could do it, he caved and offered the sticks to the girl. "I could use some assistance."

"Instead of assistance how about advice?" River asked, noticing how Cato had deflated slightly when he told her he needed help. She took the sticks out of his hands and replaced them with the two rocks. "Instead of using the sticks I think you might be better with these. Hit them at an angle aiming towards the fire as if you're scrapping them together."

Cato nodded in understanding before following her directions. He hit the rocks together two times before he saw a small spark shoot out from the rocks before disappearing. Blinking in surprise he continued hitting the rock until a larger spark appeared and fell on the leaves and pinecones. He bent down and started blowing on the spark before it grew and started burning the leaves and pinecones. Cato looked at the fire with a proud smile before looking up at River who was beaming at the boy. "You did it!" River congratulated.

"Thanks to your advice, I did," Cato replied back still smiling at the girl. "How'd you know how to do that?"

"My little secret."

"Oh you have secrets?" Cato asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning wider. "And what kind of secrets do you have?"

"They wouldn't be considered secrets if I told you," River responded with a laugh.

Cato smirked. "So looks like I have to be a bit of a detective to figure you out, huh?"

"That's right Sherlock. Give it your best shot."

* * *

"What the hell is she doing?"

"She's talking to Cato, get over it," Katniss rolled her eyes as she glared at Kane. She had already set their fire and was studying everyone else's group. Marvel had moved on from the sticks to the rock and had hit his own hand, prompting Rue to help take a look at it. Jayden had started poking at the pinecones with the stick instead of actually trying while Clove hit the rocks together, nearly breaking them in the process. Peeta and Glimmer were celebrating their successful attempt at making fire and talking about cupcakes—Katniss smiled and rolled her eyes at that, knowing her best friends love of baking—Thresh and Foxface were staring at their fire and talking to each other quietly and laughing on occasion, and Cato and River were talking and laughing like there was no tomorrow, completely ignoring their fire. Kane, of course, only noticed the last group and was positively fuming over the fact that River seemed like she was actually having fun with the blonde.

"She's _flirting _with him!" Kane responded, looking back to glare at Katniss.

Katniss looked over at Cato and River to see them still talking and laughing before looking back at Kane. "They're just talking. She's like that with everyone."

"Bull shit. McKnight is flirting with her and she's flirting back! What the hell does she think she's doing? She's my girl and she shouldn't even be talking to other guys!"

Katniss's eyebrows shot up. "One, they're not flirting. Two, I wish they _were_ flirting because I'm sure even _Cato_ would be a better choice of boyfriend than you. And three, you don't own her and she can talk to whoever she damn pleases!"

"Watch your mouth, Everdeen," Kane hissed.

Katniss narrowed her eyes and forced a laugh. "You want to do something then do it. Just don't run home crying when I kick your ass."

"You really think you can—"

"Are you harassing my tribute, Kane?"

Kane and Katniss both looked up to see Haymitch standing behind Katniss with his arms crossed and a glare being aimed at Kane, daring him to say anything while he was around. Kane snapped his jaw shut and shook his head. "I thought so. We're done for today. Time for the afternoon training session, then you guys get lunch."


End file.
